What is Your Authority?

One of the most important decisions anyone makes in this life is choosing which authority to trust for their eternal destiny. We can be wrong about a lot of things in this life and still survive, but if we are wrong about which authority to trust for our life after death, we will pay for that mistake for all eternity. As ambassadors for Christ, we must ask people if they have a reliable source for discerning truth from error. Has that source ever been wrong before? Is it possible for that source to ever mislead or deceive people?

Since every religion has an authority, and every person has an opinion, we need to ask people about their source for truth when we share the Gospel. Some will say their authority is a person, a book, a religion, a spirit, or their own understanding. Some will say they rely on their popes, rabbis, religious leaders, religious traditions, human reasoning, church history, church fathers, or Google. Any of these sources might be right some of the time, but there is only one source that is right all the time. Our holy and omniscient God has never been wrong, and He has given us His Word as our only infallible source for truth. Scripture's supreme authority is established by its divine origin. There is no higher authority than our almighty God and creator.

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness" (2 Tim. 3:16). In other words, Scripture is our supreme authority for knowing truth and correcting all that opposes it. Every word was breathed out by God, who cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18). Because of this, His inerrant Word must be the standard by which we discern truth from error (1 John 4:6). We also know that Scripture is sufficient to function as the sole infallible rule of faith, because it does not refer us to any other rule of faith. Everything we must know, understand, and believe to be saved is found in Scripture (2 Tim. 3:14-16; 1 Cor. 15:1-4). Therefore, after considering any other source for truth, we must ask, "But what does the Scripture say?" (Gal. 4:30). 

No other source for truth can do everything that Scripture does. It brings conviction, gives wisdom, produces faith, refutes error, and can be used as a sword to slay the devil's lies. For everyone who believes Scripture, it converts, saves, frees, guides, reproves, trains, corrects, sanctifies and equips for every good work. Therefore, we must use it to test the veracity of all of the following:

The teachings of men (Acts 17:11)

Religious traditions (Mark 7:7-13)

The spirits (1 John 4:1)

Church fathers (Acts 20:29-31)

Wisdom of men (1 Cor. 2:5)

Your own understanding (Prov. 3:5)

Why would anyone who is earnestly searching for the truth look anywhere other than the Lord Jesus, who is the personification of truth, who came into this world to testify to the truth, and whose Word is truth (John 14:6, 17:17, 18:37). Scripture is what God says; religion is what man says God says. Therefore, we embrace Scripture as The Supreme Authority for Truth.

Source: Mike Gendron

The Compromise and Fall of Francis Chan

Francis Chan, the founder and former pastor of Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley, California, is now a well-known author and conference speaker. Despite his solid theological educational background, he is highly compromised in many ways, and not just because he regularly shares the stage with heretics such as Benny Hinn, Todd White and Mike Bickle. Chan aims to be a people-pleaser. It's understandable that a man in the flesh would desire the praise of other men, but God dislikes this attitude and the Apostle Paul warns against it (Galatians 1:10). "Woe to you when men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets" (Luke 6:26).

An article from Reformation Charlotte reports that Chan is no stranger to ecumenism. "In 2003, Mike Gendron, a Christian apologist best known for his polemics and evangelistic resources for Catholics, was invited to speak at Chan's church. Gendron, a man who knows and loves Catholics enough to speak truthfully about the serious and damning theological errors they hold to, spoke to Chan's audience truthfully about the errors of purgatory, Mary, and the Eucharist, and then explained the biblical way of salvation. This prompted Chan to rebuke Mike Gendron in front of the entire gathering, stating that it 'was a mistake' to host Gendron. Chan's obvious discontent with biblical truth shows that he is not only theologically inept and lacks serious discernment, but that he also seeks to not offend man, effectively offending God much worse. In his never-ending crusade to please the world, Chan continues to praise well-known, well-liked heretics while throwing solid men of God under the bus. Chan knows that men like Gendron are less popular with the world and the culture because they see the truth of Scripture as black and white, without compromise."

Recently, Chan removed his shoes and invited a Catholic priest to pray over him. Later he declined to give the Gospel to a Catholic because "the Holy Spirit doesn't want me to." See video here. 

As the attacks on the exclusivity of the Gospel continue, it is of utmost importance that we stand firm on the sure Word of God and not the shifting sand of Christian personalities.